Upcoming 2007 Releases From Darla

Those busy little beavers at Darla Records are always hard at work putting out sweet new indie-pop, electronic, and ambient releases, and 2007 looks to be no different in terms of label activity.

First up is a two-disc reissue of I Am Robot And Proud’s The Catch and Spring Summer Autumn Winter, which came out last month. Next are two May releases: Alsace Lorraine’s Dark One and Rumskib’s self-titled debut.

I’ve been listening to Dark One quite a bit, and it’s a gorgeous little slice of indie-pop that sounds like it was piped in from some parallel universe where the 80s — at least the 80s as seen in John Hughes movies — never quite came to an end. I know that sort of description gets bandied about a lot, as it seems like many bands these days are tapping into the retro 1980s vibe.

Of course, that’s not a bad thing, especially when a group like Alsace Lorraine is doing it with wistful vocals, glassy synths, and jangly guitars a-plenty. If you have any doubts, go to their MySpace page and check out “Go From My Window” or especially “Dulce Et Decorum” (which boasts one of my fave outros of the year so far).

I’ve only heard bits and pieces of Rumskib, but I like what I’ve heard. Then again, seeing as how I’m an addict for anything that smacks of shoegaze and that Rumskib’s music contains every earmark of the genre, that may not count for much.

Go with the usual genre comparisons — My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, etc. — but I’m actually reminded more of loveliescrushing, due to the healthy amount of abrasive noise and feedback. But buried under the waves upon waves of noise are some great, catchy melodies and fetching vocal harmonies. And of course, producer Jonas Munk (Manual) throws in his characteristic blend of atmospherics.

Moving into the summer finds Darla releasing two albums that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time: Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd’s After The Night Falls and Before The Day Breaks. I suspect neither album will contain too many surprises. They’ll probably sound just like you expect, full of Guthrie’s trademark shimmering guitars and Budd’s trademark minimalist-yet-emotive piano atmospheres. Which is just fine by me.

Guthrie describes the two albums as a handsome collection of eighteen pieces of music compiled into two albums, twins if you like, experiments in the dualities of music and emotion, and seems pretty excited about the releases, which are due out in June.

If atmospheric dreampop isn’t your bag, but atmospheric twang is, than due out at the same time will be Darla’s reissue of the demos for My Morning Jacket’s Tennessee Fire and At Dawn. Twenty tracks in all, consisting of demos, bootlegs, and heretofore unreleased material.

Rounding out 2007 will be new releases from Japancakes, Manual, and Auburn Lull.

Not a bad schedule, if you ask me. Not at all.